Textile products and method of producing same



Patented Dec. 30, 1947 UNITED` STATES PATENT OFFICE TEXTILE PRDUCTS METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME Eric E. Weiss, White Plains, N. Y., assignor to United Merchants & Manufacturers Inc., Wilmington,'Del.,a corporation o! Delaware Application November so, i946, serial No. '113,375

(ci. 57--14oi 2 Claims.

womens dresses, pajamas, blouses, sportswear,

childrens wear, etc.

It has long been recognized that a fabric used for such purposes as noted must be made of so called spun yarn. These spun yarns are composed of short bers of either uniform or nonuniform, but predetermined length-such as cotton, linen, wool, etc., in the case of natural bers or such as spun rayon,`spun acetate, etc., in the case of synthetic fibers.

The many cotton yarny fabrics ordinary employed in such apparel have always left much to be desired from the standpoint of appearance and hand as compared with fabrics made from spun yarn of synthetic fibers. The synthetic yarn fabrics possess a most desirable subdued and rich lustre and are more luxurious and soft in hand and touch.

Many worsted yarn fabrics composed in whole or in major part of wool are also used in apparel. While these fabrics possess desirable hand, lustre and softness, they have the disadvantage of high cost and cannot be readily laundered. By their very nature, they must be subjected to a special finishing process initially to obtain the necessary appearance and hand. In the hands of the wearer or consumer, it is almost an inevitable requirement that such fabric be dry cleaned rather than laundered.

Synthetic yarns are produced in two different physical forms. In the fiber state they are commonly spun into yarn by the varied processes of carding, combing, drafting and spinning andare therefore known as spun yarns. The other form is commonly known as continuous filament yarn. These yarns are produced by the utilization of chemical baths and by a continuous extrusion process of combining fine iilaments into a unitary 2 continuous thread. Spun yarns, due to their nature, i. e. being composed of short fibers, are definitely inferior in strength to the continuous fllament type. The continuous 'filament yarn fabrics are inherently stronger. Many attempts have been made in the past to construct fabrics from continuous filament yarns, and although large sums have been expended to design, develop and promote the same, they remain most undesirable from the standpoint of appearance. Usually `such fabrics have a very objectionable high and l cheap looking sheen and do not show the roundness ofthread or the vdepth of fabric made of yarn composed of spun fibers.

It is generally recognized that in the field of apparel, fabrics should be washable and must, at the same time, retain stability. However, synthetic fabrics, when subjected to laundering often do not maintain the original dimensions of the manu--A factured garment. This requisite of dimensional stability is very important for any extended use of such garment. Therefore, for many years those skilled in the art have attempted to produce synthetic material possessing this very desirable and necessary quality of dimensional stability.

Fabrics woven of yarns made of synthetic fibers lose a considerable portion of their original tensile strength when subjected to moisture, in comparison to a cotton fabric of the same weight and construction.' They begin by having lower tensile strength in the dry state, and ordinarily will be about of their normalv dry strength in the wet state. These fabrics, when subjected to normal.

bodily moisture, especially during the hot summer months, may rip or tear under the strain of normal wear; hence rendering the garment uniit for further use. Furthermore it is common knowledge that synthetic fabrics intended to replace high cost worsted fabrics normally utilized in the apparel field, have the deficiencies com,- monly associated with such worsted fabrics, i. e. the necessity of dry cleaning, and the lack of dimensional stability, especially when subjected to laundering.

The present invention therefore contemplates the production of a synthetic yarn and fabric, havingl the features normally associated with fabrics made from spun yarn, such as a rich, subdued lustre and a luxurious soft hand and touch, although made in part from continuous filament yarn. Another object is to produce a synthetic yarn and fabric having the desirable properties of spun yarn, but characterized by high wet and dry tensile strength and dimensional stabilit Tlsie invention further proposes a synthetic fabric of substantially equal or greater strength and dimensional stability than a fabric of equal weight made of cotton. A further object is the manufacture of a synthetic fabric which the consumer or wearer may satisfactorily launder, with. out the necessity of dry cleaning. Another object is the manufacture of a synthetic fabric such as, for example, a material of unusual wearability and high screening power having the soft hand characteristic of high grade mousseline fabrics. In the finished product, such material, has the appearance of a fabric made wholly from spun yarn, even though comprising at least in part continuous filament yarn. It isy however,-

dimensionally stable, stronger, and altogether more serviceable than spun yarn material.

With the above and other objects in view as will be apparent, this invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, all as hereinafter more fully described, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged longitudinal section of a portion of the composite synthetic yarn of the present invention before setting; and

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the yarn after the setting operation, illustrating the interlocking relationship between the several components thereof.

The instant invention contemplates the manufacture or pre-duction of yarns and fabrics made from such yarns characterized by high wet and dry strength and dimensional stability. It proposes the composite association of a continuous filament core with a drafted wrapping made of staple bers or rovings. The material forming the core may be a polyamide continuous filament yarn such as nylon The wrapper component of the composite yarn may be one or more rovings of textile fibers such as spun yarn, spun acetate, cotton, wool, or other synthetic ornatural fibers or blends of such fibers.

Among others, one feature of the invention resides in the coaction between the core and wrapping components upon setting or stabilizing the manufactured textile product composed from such special yarns, either by steam or by boiling water. Such setting can be accomplished by different processes subjecting the textile product to varying degrees of moisture, heat, pressure and time, depending upon the type of textile fabric which is to be processed and depending further upon the desired finished quality. In some cases the simple and inexpensive method of subjecting the textile to the action of water at boiling temperatures for periods of from about half an hour to an hour will give the desired results. In other cases, Saturated steam is used. Such a product may be subjected to steam pressure of from 15 to 30 lbs. for periods of from about 1V; to 3 minutes. As the result of such setting treatments, the spun fibers lock themselves around and conform themselves to the contours of the nylon core, thus inhibiting any tendency of the composite yarn to unravel, or slippage of the spun fibers with respect to the continuous filament core component, thereby enhancing the wearing qualities of such fabrics.

As will be understood, since the core of the composite yarn of the present invention is formed of a thermoplastic material, the yarn after setting will be dimensionally stable and not subject to stretch or sag as is characteristic of fabrics made from all spun yarns. Furthermore, fabrics made from such composite yarns will have a much higher wet and dry strength than textiles made solely from spun yarns. Manifestly, in the setting operation, the continuous filament core may be shrunk by means of such setting treatment at high temperatures, to thereby fully set the continuous filament element in a fixed position. As a result, despite the spun fiber element, which would normally tend to produce a fabric of inferior stability, the composite yarn and fabrics made therefrom are dimensionally stable and not subject to any substantial shrinkage, sagging or stretching. They are washable and can be dry cleaned. rAs indicated in Fig. 1, by means of the setting operation the thermoplastic material core coacts with roving wrapping to form an interlocking engagement therebetween; thus resulting in the formation of a product of unusual strength and dimensional stability.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention utilizes a continuous nylon filament core yarn I0 of the order of from 20 to 75 denier, preferably within the range of 30 to 70 denier,I and most desirably about 30 denier. It has been found that by using as the core of the composite yarn a filament yarn having such a denier size, unexpected and desirable properties result. y

In similar fashion the number of turns per inch of the nylon core I0 may vary from 7 to 25. In practice, however, it has been found that a range of the order of from 7 to 10 turns per inch is preferred. 7 turns per inch may be considered most satisfactory.

The covering or wrapper component II of the present invention, as distinguished from the continuous filament core I0 thereof, may be one or several rovings of rayon, acetate or other suitable v fibrous material having an average staple length of from about 1%" to 3". In practice it has been found that the preferred range would run from l 1/2 to 21/2 The thickness of this spun wrapper component II, expressed in terms of hanks, should be within a range of from 4 to 8 hanks, a preferred construction being of the order of from 6 to 6%. hanks.

As will be understood, one or more of such spun rovings II are introduced into a spinning frame and submitted to a drafting operation. The continuous filament yarn I0 which should be liner thany the roving I I and which ultimately will form the core, thus substantially reinforcing the inherently weak spun yarn, is introduced at the same time in such a manner that it escapes the attenuating action of the drafting rolls, and coacts with the roving II to form the composite yarn I 2 of the present invention.

Any suitable number of turns per inch may be employed when the spun rovings II are combined to coact with the continuous filament core I0. For example, a range of from 14 to 25 turns has been found practical and successful and from 16 to 1'? turns is especially suitable.

Furthermore, the relative percentage of spun fiber wrapper I I content with respect to the total percentage of the composite yarn I2 may be varied, as may be found to be desirable or suitable, from about 60% to 85%, thus leaving the continuous filament core I0 of the yarn a rela.- tively minor portion of the composite yarn association.

y As will hereinafter appear, a series oi tests or experiments has been made for the purpose of determining the relative merits and leiectiveness tained in making composite yarns embodying the principles of the present invention, as heretofore indicated and described:

Table of examples Composite Per Ceni Abrason Experiment Core Yarn Hank Ravi g Size Cottor. of Spun o. of No. Den./Fil./TDS Count Fibre Strokes 2ends oi4hk 20.8 72.8 106 -do 21.8 74.4 84 22. 74. 8 101 25. 4 80. 7 61 28. 5 67. 8 61 20. 5 88. 8 53 30. 1 77. 4 56 36. 5 79. 4 58 l end of 4 hk 36. 8 48. 4 30 f ..do 41.3 68.7 29 11 'iO/1017 1 end 6.5 hk 59.5 66.7 16

of various yarns of specic and denite construction. All of these yarns embody the principles of the present invention. The relative strength or tus that the yarn can resist before breaking down or unraveling. In the tests so conducted it was found that a very satisfactory specic composite yarn construction was, for the core component, a denier 'l turn continuous iilament nylon yarn, comprising 21.6% of the whole. For the spun fiber component, 2 ends of 6.5 hank spun rayon roving had been used, constituting vthe balanc of 79.4% of the composite yarn. The size of this composite yarn expressed -in terms of hanks per pound was 36.5. When tested for resistance to abrasion this particular construction showed a figure of 58 as the number of strokes or rubs with a reed device such a yarn can resist before breaking down. Based on present experience an abrasive resistance of about 50 or more strokes gives the composite yarns very satisfactory performance strength.

It would appear from the experiments that any yarn made having a composite yarn hanks per pound and with a percentage of spun fiber of at least 50% would be satisfactory. The denier size of the continuous lament core yarn would depend, of course, upon the composite yarn size desired, with the heavier denier being used for the coarser composite yarn. From 70 denier down to 20 denier would be a quite satisfactory range for the continuous lament core. However, it is possible to use a much heavier continuous lament yarn if a coarse, very strong composite yarn is desired and if the end use of such composite yarn would warrant the high cost involved.

The following table illustrates the results obsize no ner than 40 Although continuous filament nylon has been cited herein as an example of a thermoplastic material particularly adaptable for use, as the core of a composite yarn of the present invention, it will be understood that other polyamide syn- -thetic yarns or other synthetic thermoplastic continuous filament yarns may be employed.

Although spun rayon bers are preferred as the wrapping material such spun rayon bers may be blended with, or replaced by, fibers composed of cellulose acetate or other synthetic fibers or cotton, wool or other natural fibers, l

What is claimed is:

1. In a process of manufacturing piece goods, the steps of spinning a plurality of composite yarns composed of a core portion of twisted continuous lament nylon and a wrapper portion for the core of staple bers of rayon of an average length of from 1.5 to 3 inches wherein the relative percentage content of the core portion to the wrapper portion is from about 15% to.

about 35%, weaving the composite yarns into piece goods, and subjecting the same to saturated steam under pressure of the order of from about according to the present invention 15 lbs. to 30 lbs. for a. period of from about 1.5 minutes to 3 minutes.

2. A fabric produced according to the process of claim 1.

ERIC E. WEISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

